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Words of Germanic origin are common in all varieties of Spanish. The modern words for the cardinal directions (norte, este, sur, oeste), for example, are all taken from Germanic words (compare north, east, south and west in Modern English), after the contact with Atlantic sailors. These words did not exist in Spanish prior to the 15th century.
This is a list of Spanish words which are believed to have originated from the ancient Iberian language. Some of these words existed in Latin as loanwords from other languages. Some of these words have alternative etymologies and may also appear on a list of Spanish words from a different language.
calé — a Romani person; from Caló ' Romani, speaker of Romani ', see caló below. caló — Caló language, also black, dark-colored; the word is possibly related to Sanskrit kanlanka ' blemish, macula ' and/or Ancient Greek kelainós ' black '.
The cognates in the table below share meanings in English and Spanish, but have different pronunciation. Some words entered Middle English and Early Modern Spanish indirectly and at different times. For example, a Latinate word might enter English by way of Old French, but enter Spanish directly from Latin. Such differences can introduce ...
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent a dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants, known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes, which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter j and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter z (and ...
For example, the words casa ('house') and caza ('hunt') would be pronounced with the same [s] sound. This can result in ambiguity but can usually be interpreted depending on the context of which the sentence is spoken. Seseo is the most widespread pronunciation among Spanish speakers worldwide and occurs in nearly all speakers in Hispanic America.
Old Spanish (roman, romançe, romaz; [3] Spanish: español medieval), also known as Old Castilian or Medieval Spanish, refers to the varieties of Ibero-Romance spoken predominantly in Castile and environs during the Middle Ages. The earliest, longest, and most famous literary composition in Old Spanish is the Cantar de mio Cid (c. 1140–1207).
This word ending—thought to be difficult for Spanish speakers to pronounce at the time—evolved in Spanish into a "-te" ending (e.g. axolotl = ajolote). As a rule of thumb, a Spanish word for an animal, plant, food or home appliance widely used in Mexico and ending in "-te" is highly likely to have a Nahuatl origin.